Barbarian
This illustration by William O'Connor introduced the barbarian in the Player's Handbook 2. Barbarian is a class in 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons. There are two barbarian subclasses: the original barbarian, a primal striker, and berserker, a primal and martial striker and defender. Class traits The following traits are common to original barbarians and berserkers. *'Weapon proficiencies:' Simple melee, military melee *'Bonus to defenses:' +2 Fortitude *'Hit points:' 15 + Constitution score at 1st level, plus 6 each additional level *'Healing surges per Day:' 8 + Constitution modifier Characteristics: You combine powerful melee attacks with an excellent ability to absorb damage. You gain tremendous bursts of power through mighty rages. You have unusually high hit points for your role, making you more durable than other strikers. Religion: Most barbarians revere the primal spirits of the natural world rather than calling on the gods of the Astral Sea. Some barbarians don’t see conflict between the gods and the primal spirits and therefore honor deities of nature or warfare in addition to the primal spirits. These barbarians often revere Kord, Melora, Avandra, or the Raven Queen. Evil or chaotic evil barbarians turn to Gruumsh or, more rarely, Bane or Zehir. Races: Goliaths are ideal rageblood barbarians. Dragonborn make excellent thaneborn barbarians. Half-orcs are often barbarians but don’t favor either of the two types. Dwarf and shifter barbarians tend to be rageblood barbarians, while halfling and half-elf barbarians choose the thaneborn path. Class skills Original barbarians and berserkers are trained in any three skills from the barbarian class skill list: *Acrobatics (Dex) *Athletics (Str) *Endurance (Con) *Heal (Wis) *Intimidate (Cha) *Nature (Wis) *Perception (Wis) Original barbarian The original barbarian is the subclass of barbarian introduced in the Player's Handbook 2. It is sometimes referred to as "o-barbarian" or simply "barbarian". *'Role:' Striker. You use powerful two-handed weapons to deal serious damage to your enemies. Your physical power and daunting presence can cause foes to cower before you, and you can temporarily increase your abilities by harnessing great bursts of terrifying rage. Depending on your choice of class features and powers, you lean toward either defender or leader as a secondary role. *'Power source:' Primal. You are a primal champion, a warrior devoted to the natural world and an embodiment of your tribe’s fierce traditions. *'Key abilities:' Strength, Constitution, Charisma *'Armor proficiencies:' Cloth, leather, hide *'Build options:' Rageblood barbarian , Thaneborn barbarian , Thunderborn barbarian , Whirling barbarian . Barbarian Agility While you are not wearing heavy armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC and Reflex. The bonus increases to +2 at 11th level and +3 at 21st level. Feral Might Barbarians connect with the natural world in a variety of ways. Some barbarians grow so hardened to physical punishment that they find it asier to simply absorb, rather than avoid, attacks. Others are living examples of the power of one’s will to shape one’s fate. Choose one of the following options. The choice you make gives you the benefit described below and also provides bonuses to certain barbarian powers, as detailed in those powers. Rage Strike Barbarian daily attack powers have the rage keyword. They allow you to unleash powerful bursts of emotion, willpower, and primal energy. Each rage power starts with a mighty attack, and then you enter a rage, which grants an ongoing benefit. At 5th level, you gain the rage strike power, which lets you channel an unused rage power into a devastating attack while you’re raging. Using rage strike is an alternative to using a second rage power in a climactic battle; it gives you the damage output of a daily power without forcing you to enter a different rage. Rampage Once per round, when you score a critical hit with a barbarian attack power, you can immediately make a melee basic attack as a free action. You do not have to attack the same target that you scored a critical hit against. Berserker Berserker is the subclass of barbarian introduced in Heroes of the Feywild. Berserkers have a dual primal and martial power source, and are both strikers and defenders. *'Role:' Defender and striker *'Power source:' Martial and primal *'Key abilities:' Strength and Dexterity *'Armor proficiencies:' Cloth, leather, hide, light shield Berserker Fury Defender Aura Berserkers with the Defender Aura class feature gain defender aura as an at-will utility power. Defender aura creates an aura 1 that penalizes unmarked enemy attack rolls against allies without a defender aura by −2. Heartland A berserker chooses one of the following terrain types and gains the corresponding benefits. Poised Defender Berserkers with the Poised Defender class feature gain a +2 bonus to AC when their defender aura is active and they are not wearing heavy armor. Vengeful Guardian Berserkers with the Vengeful Guardian class feature gain vengeful guardian as an at-will attack power. Vengeful guardian can be used as an opportunity action triggered by enemies within the berserker's defender aura shift or attack an ally without a defender aura. Barbarian powers Most barbarian powers, having primal power sources, are also called evocations. Some have a martial power source, and are also called exploits. Barbarian feats These feats have the barbarian class, or hybrid/multiclass barbarian, as a prerequisite. Additional prerequisites are noted. For example, characters who multiclass into barbarian do not necessarily gain the -Thaneborn Triumph feature, so may not qualify for feats requiring that feature. Heroic tier feats *Bloody Triumph (Thaneborn Triumph) *Deadly Rage *Elemental Barbarian (Genasi) *Fearsome Charge (Rageblood Vigor) *Hurl Weapon *Improved Rageblood Vigor (Rageblood Vigor) *Improved Roar of Triumph (Thaneborn Triumph) *Improvised Missile *Raging Bloodcut *Rising Fury *Swift Slayer (Whirling Slayer) *Targeted Assault *Thunderborn Rage (Thunderborn Wrath) Barbarian paragon paths Refer to the Barbarian section in the Paragon Path page or the Barbarian Paragon Paths category. Multiclass barbarians Multiclassing into Barbarian (Berserker's Fury feat) gives the following benefits: *Training in a skill of your choice from the Barbarian Class Skill list above. *Once per day as a free action, you can gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls until the end of the encounter. Also, and hybrid character can choose the Hybrid Barbarian class as one of its selected classes. Development Category:Barbarian Category:Classes Category:Strikers Category:Defenders Category:Primal Category:Martial